Castlevania Chronicles

Castlevania Chronicles (キャッスルヴァニアクロニクル Kyassuruvania Kuronikuru) is a platform video game developed by Konami and originally released for the Sharp X68000 home computer in 1993 as Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ Akumajō Dorakyura, translated Devil's Castle Dracula).

In 2001, the game was released in all regions on the PlayStation as Castlevania Chronicles with added features, including an Arranged Mode for new players. The original release is sometimes unofficially dubbed "Akumajō Dracula X68000" to differentiate it from other games in the series. It was made available for download via the PlayStation Network as a PSone Classic on December 18, 2008.

The game follows the same premise as Castlevania for the Nintendo Entertainment System, where the vampire hunter Simon Belmont must defeat Dracula and save Transylvania.

Gameplay
Akumajō Dracula is a game based on Castlevania, with a completely new engine designed to take advantage of the Sharp X68000 hardware. The entire game is completely updated, including familiar stages that have been redesigned, as well as brand new stages altogether. It contains all of the special items and sub-weapons from the original game, as well as an exclusive rare item known as the laurel, which refills six health blocks for 10 hearts. This game is also notable for its high difficulty level.

Like the original Castlevania game, hidden items worth points and hidden 1-ups will appear throughout the game if the player ducks or stands in particular portions of a level. Another notable feature is the multiple loops after the game is completed. Previous Castlevania games had increased difficulty for the game's second playthrough. An increased amount of damage taken from enemies in earlier levels as well as new enemy placement and attack patterns were just a few things to make the second playthrough more difficult. This game, however, has as many as six additional playthroughs with each one becoming much more difficult than the last.

Completing "Arrange Mode" also unlocks special features including an art gallery as well as a "Time Attack Mode". Exclusive to the U.S. and European versions of Chronicles, the art gallery features artwork by Ayami Kojima for Chronicles and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The "Time Attack Mode" allows the player to race through any stage, complete with a time meter, to beat their best time.

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